Hi everyone
I'm posting this thread because i've been doing some thinking lately about what i'm going to do after school and the first thing that came up was "how am i gonna keep playing the guitar?".
you probebly don't know, but in israel going to the army is a must and i don't know what i'm gonna do in there. i know what i want to do, my big brother is an F-16 pilot at the airforce and i have the quelifications to go to flight school and so i planned on going in his footsteps, but then there is the guitar. going to flight school means 5 years of your life are going to be devoted to that. i think of my guitar playing future and i see a huge 5 year chasem that i must somehow leap in order to keep my progress in guitar playing.
when i think of what i'll like to be when i grow up i always think guitar player, i've been playing for three years and have played in many recitals with other orchestras (i play classical music) and i study with the most respected teacher in israel, i have people that know me and willing to give me a part in thier ansemble after i get out of the army... but what if i'll lose my level of playing?
when i look in to the future my hopes and dreams about playing guitar proffesionally are closer then ever before, i think it would be interesting if you guys could share your ambitions about playing the guitar, they don't have to be proffessional ambitions... what i'm trying to ask you is this-
while playing the guitar in your passtime think about 5 years from now, or ten or twenty... where would you like to be musiclly?
(go wild)
why can't you play when your off duty ?
even god loves rock-n-roll
Exactly the point I was going to make! You're bound to have time off. You may have to cut back on your playing a bit until you get through flight school, but, after that, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, IMHO.
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"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
I'm not really sure how much offtime he'll have. I had a friend who was in an Israel army for about 5 years and he said they were very strict, gave you little time off.
Flight school may be different though.
GOod luck nonetheless.
Johnny Cash had a guitar with him during his time in the air force. Even during his overseas posting.
Unless there is some regulation against having a guitar in barracks, I expect you will find some small amount of time to play.
Probably more in the latter years of your military career, but some time is better than none
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
My guess is that Classico is now spending a great deal of time practicing. Just a guess, but based on the fact that he plays classical guitar and from his story is studying with a well known teacher, he is probably playing/practicing several hours a day. Simply practicing in his spare time, in the barracks is not going to keep him progressing (or even at the level he is probably at now).
I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't. For me, guitar is merely a hobby. I never seriously entertained ideas of playing professionally. 5 years is a long time.
This is one of those "grown up" decisions only you can make. Clearly, you will have to serve in the military, but you do not have to go to flight school. What do you want to do, Classico?
I am one of those who believes that we are in the first stages of another "100 years war" and you belong to one of the front line states. Read with that prejudice in mind.
Unlike most of us you have no choice, unless you belong to an ultra religious sect you are going into the IDF so now it is a matter of how you serve. As I understand the IDF if you really are a potential fighter pilot even if you decide against that path you are likely to end up a paratrooper or in one of the elite recon units.
Also all of your contempraries and competetion in the professional musician corp will also serve there army and reserve time. So don't think of it as 5 years but rather the additional 2 or 3 years at the beginning but then you won't be spending your reserve call ups digging fighting holes or kicking in doors. Hard things for the fingers and hands, take it from this old tank commander.
When I went into the US Army 25 years ago I knew that once I left school I would not be playing sax anymore, if I had been invovled with church back then maybe I would have countinued to play and made different decisions. So I left the sax at home and carried a flute around and it was 20 years before I got back to making music.
But that was me, just a school band player who didn't live in a society where everyman is expected to serve.
You know, I read that every American pays $600 to the nation of Israel out of their taxes. I'm going to write my congressman and get you a Martin Backpacker. No kidding. It might not happen, but elections are on the way.
Brain-cleansing music for brain-numbing times in a brain dead world
http://www.oenyaw.com
You are young, and Flight school/pilot training is not something that just falls into anyones lap.
Long term- Ex military pilots make pretty good money compared to Guitarists in general.
5 years will go by quicker than you know.
Then you can devote your life to your music, with a fall back job most of us would love to have.
#4491....
The letter is sent.
Brain-cleansing music for brain-numbing times in a brain dead world
http://www.oenyaw.com
wow, thanks allot guys!
it was really interesting reading what you think and i thank you for the thought.
i have two more years until i finish school in which i'll think of things and find the right way for me.
even though being a fighter-pilot has been my dream for a long time, the guitar is a big part of my life right now and i can't imagine not playing everyday (as fenderbander wrote i practice some three hours a day), but i guess i can't have it all... i plan to check with people i know in the army about being in the IDF orchestra as a guitar player, my physical and IQ statistics are very good and it will be a problem not to go to a fighting unit... but i'll see what i can do.
by the way, Standard IDF serving time is three years so i'm in for an extra two or three years if i go to flight school.
again i thank you all for your thoughts, this desicion is one i'll have to make in the next two years and i don't think i'll ever be certain that i've made the right one.
only time will tell...
Good luck with it Classico
In my opinion, riding a guitar is much like playing the bike. Err, Playing the guitar is much like riding a bike. I don't think you'll become too much worse, even if you don't play at all for a few years, your fingers won't forget what they've learned so quickly. And, even if you play for 15 minutes a day while serving, I think you'll retain all of your skills.
